Eternal
by Louisaxo
Summary: AU - My version of season three of The Vampire Diaries. After Stefan left Mystic Falls in the season two finale, Elena needed something to bring him home. That something came in the form of a miracle. ElenaXStefan DamonXCaroline - Rated T for minor swearing and angst themes. ElenaXStefan Pregnancy Fiction
1. Chapter 1

**Eternal**

 **Chapter 1**

 _ **Hi everyone I'm back! Right now I'm still working on my Twilight fanfiction**_ _ **We Are Family**_ **,** _ **but I'm so happy to start my first The Vampire Diaries fanfiction! Hope you enjoy this, here's the first chapter.**_

 **Elena POV**

I had to find him, I needed him here with me. He makes me whole and he helps me be who I am every day. As Damon drove towards his car through the streets of Chicago, my mind wandered towards what would happen if we didn't find him. All that Damon told me is that he found out from an old acquaintance that Klaus and Stefan were going to be at a bar that he and Stefan used to go to back in the 20's.

"We will find him, don't worry Elena. We will bring him home." Damon said, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"I know we will eventually, I just wish he knew." I said, rubbing my stomach absentmindedly.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **It had been seven weeks since Stefan left. Seven weeks since he had cured Damon and left town with Klaus. Seven weeks since he had left me and everyone else behind to begin his existence of torture alongside Klaus.**_

 _ **I was sitting in Stefan's room one Thursday morning when I heard Caroline shouting my name as she came through the front door.**_

" _ **Elena!" Caroline screeched as she sped at vampire speed through the house, up the stairs and into the room.**_

" _ **Hey, Care." I mumbled, still buried under the sheets.**_

" _ **Elena! What are you doing, you should be at school?" Caroline huffed, getting on the huge bed beside me.**_

" _ **Caroline, I'm not feeling well. I haven't felt well for a few days actually. And before you ask, it isn't Stefan. I'm missing him like crazy but this is different. I've just been feeling sick it's okay through I'll be okay in a few days. You can go back to school if you like." I told her.**_

" _ **No, it's okay. We had Alaric this afternoon and he knows the secret so I doubt he'd ask questions and create a situation that could potentially raise suspicion." Caroline said, taking off her shoes and jacket before getting in the sheets.**_

" _ **What do you think it is? Do you think it's something you've eaten or…?" She trailed off.**_

" _ **Or what?" I questioned, sitting up in the bed.**_

" _ **No, it's okay forget I said anything. It's impossible." She muttered, lowering her gaze.**_

" _ **You think I'm pregnant? That isn't possible? Is it? I thought vampires couldn't procreate?" I screeched, glad that Damon had gone into town to meet the sheriff.**_

" _ **No forget I said anything, like I said it's impossible." Care whispered.**_

 _ **I looked at the calendar on my wall and reached over to grab my phone from the beside cabinet. I began to count back the days on my fingers and when I looked up at Caroline she was looking at me expectantly.**_

" _ **Well?" She questioned.**_

" _ **I'm actually late, Caroline this is impossible. I didn't even realise I've been so stressed out recently" I said, burying my face in my hands.**_

" _ **Well, how about this. I'll go into town and buy a test for you and if it's positive we can go to the hospital this afternoon before Jeremy comes home from school?" Caroline wondered, getting out of bed and reaching for her jacket and shoes.**_

 _ **I nodded and Caroline took off out of the house. I vaguely heard her car door slamming before I fell back asleep.**_

 _ **When I woke up, Caroline was sitting on the bed beside me, scrolling through something on her phone.**_

" _ **You're awake! Finally, I've been waiting forever." Caroline whined, reaching into her bag and pulling out a pharmacy bag. I reluctantly reached for the bag and looked up at Caroline, who was nodding, encouraging me, before I got up off the bed and headed for the bathroom.**_

 _ **I came out of the bathroom four minutes later with the positive test in my hand and a smile on my face.**_

" _ **You are?" Caroline asked, astounded.**_

 _ **I nodded, giving her my answer.**_

" _ **I am, I don't know how but I am, maybe this is the thing that will finally bring Stefan home. Now all Damon and I need to do is find him."**_

 _ **Flashback End**_

That was six weeks ago and here we were, coming to find Stefan and bring him home, back to his family. Telling Damon about the pregnancy was probably the hardest thing I've done since Stefan left. I was expecting him to lash out as tell me that he hated me, but to my surprise he didn't. Since then Damon and I have really worked at our relationship, we figured out all of the romantic feelings and now we are both content with the brotherly and sisterly feelings that we feel for one another. Damon had even come along to the 10-week scan with me as Caroline count make it, and he was so happy when he found out that he had a niece or nephew on the way that he could protect.

"Here we are." Damon announced, pulling me from my reverie.

I was dark outside as we pulled up beside the dingy Chicago bar. I was so nervous, what if he hated me? What if he rejected me?

"Elena, Stefan loves you. Everything will be okay, I promise. I'm going to go inside, get Stefan out here and distract Klaus. As soon as the clock hits twenty-five to eleven I'm coming out, because I do actually want to survive this trip. That means that you have eleven minutes between now and then to tell him and convince him to come home." Damon squeezed my hand reassuringly before he got out of the car and walked into the bar.

I was pacing beside the car when Stefan came out of the bar, he looked around and then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked coldly. I knew it was an act, I knew Klaus would be listening inside so I beckoned him away out of hearing range.

"Stefan, come home." I said, looking into his eyes, grabbing his face when he tried to look away from me.

"Stefan, please." I begged.

"Elena, I can't. You know that. Klaus would kill you if he knows that you are alive, don't you see that?" He asked, I couldn't tell whether he was worried or exasperated, or both.

"Stefan, I do know that. But I know you'll make sure that we are safe. Damon is inside risking his life right now to save you, I'm here right now because I love you, don't you see that?" I turned back the question on him.

"Elena I…" He trailed off, struggling for words. I could see that he was trying his hardest not to give in to me and keep me safe.

I was beginning to become frustrated, he just needed to see that I was safe back at home in Mystic Falls with him. I had taken up residence at the Salvatore boarding house when Stefan left and I don't want to change that any time soon.

"Stefan, you need to come home, we need you home." I said, taking his hand a resting it on my stomach.

Stefan looked up at me confused, his mouth kept on opening and closing, no words coming out.

"How… no… impossible…" he whispered to himself.

"Stefan, I know it's impossible and I have no idea how this happened but it has. This is our miracle Stefan, our baby and we need you to come home." I begged and he nodded, pulling me into his arms.

"Let's get out of here, before Klaus realises something is up." He whispered, putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me towards Damon's car. Stefan and I got into the back seat of the car and I reached into my jacket pocket for my phone.

 _ **To: Damon**_

 _ **Done. Let's get out of here, the key is in the ignition so be quick before he notices.**_

I pressed send and before I knew it Damon was in the car and starting the engine, reversing out of the lot wildly and speeding away from the bar.

"Woah! Easy Damon remember who is in the car!" I chastised as I unclipped my seatbelt and climbed onto Stefan's lap.

"Sorry, mom." Damon grumbled from the front seat as he put his foot on the accelerator, speeding towards the highway.

"You okay, Stef?" Damon questioned, turning around in his seat dangerously to speak to Stefan, who looked confused at his brothers caring tone.

"Where has this changed attitude come from" Stefan questioned.

"Well, got a soon to be sister-in-law and a niece in the back of the car to take care of, isn't that right brother?" Damon said, focusing on the road.

"Damon!" I shouted, reaching over to smack him on the back of the head so hard that it hurt him.

"Ow! What was that for?" Damon exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I hadn't told him! Thanks for ruining the surprise dickhead!" I said through gritted teeth.

"It's a girl?" Stefan asked, grinning.

I nodded and he pulled me to him I buried my face in his neck, I pulled back before kissing him passionately.

"Eww, get a room you two, a gentle reminder that you are in the back of _my_ car." Damon complained from the front seat.

I turned around and kissed Stefan again, just to spite Damon. I heard Damon tut before he turned back around and reached over to change the radio station.

For the majority of the drive back home we sat in a comfortable silence, apart from Stefan asking us the occasional question about what had been going on at home. Stefan and I continued to sit together in the back seat and eventually I fell asleep, resting my head on his shoulder and my hand on my stomach.

…

The feeling of being lifted woke me.

"Shh, go back to sleep. We're home, I'm just taking you up to your room." I heard Stefan say and I nodded before realising what he said.

"No, Stefan I want to go _home."_ I said, opening my eyes drowsily.

"You want to go back to the boarding house?" Stefan enquired.

"Yeah, didn't Damon tell you? I've been staying there since you left so that I could be closer to you." I mumbled, dropping my head back onto his shoulder.

"Okay, back to the boarding house it is." Stefan said as he turned around and walked back down the steps of my old porch and towards the car. I vaguely heard Stefan and Damon speaking before I felt the car move.

It usually took me about fifteen minutes to drive to the Salvatore house, but with Damon's driving skills and vampiric attitude, it took barely five. I was wide awake and on Stefan's lap when we pulled up to the house, I could not wait to see the surprise on his face when he saw the plan Damon and I had come up with.

Damon unlocked the door and walked inside, I followed behind him. We both turned around hair in time to see the surprise on Stefan's face when he couldn't get through the door.

"What's going on?" He asked, confused.

"Elena owns the house now." Damon said simply before he walked off into the drawing room, or rather his scotch in the drawing room.

"You what?" Stefan asked, still confused.

"Well actually it was Damon's idea. I now have the deeds to the house and since someone living lives here no vampires can just waltz into the house whenever they feel like it." I told him, pleased at the plan we had come up with.

"That's actually a great idea considering it came from Damon, but can you please let me into the house before the wolves get me." Stefan joked.

I folded my arms across my chest and took a step backwards.

"Elena." Stefan warned.

"What? I'm not doing anything!" I said innocently.

"Oh my, I am so going to get you for this." Stefan complained, stamping his foot impatiently.

"My, we are impatient today aren't we?" I joked, taking another step backwards.

Stefan pouted and stamped his foot again, making me laugh.

"Mr Salvatore, you are allowed to come inside now." I said and he sped inside the house before I could blink.

"I am so going to get you for that." Stefan said confidently from behind me, startling me.

"Can't wait." I said before I took off in the direction of the kitchen for a glass of water.

When I came back through into the drawing room, I noticed Stefan and Damon standing in front of the fireplace. I knew they were talking, you could see their mouths moving, but I was human so I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"What are you guys talking about?" I wondered, setting my empty glass on the coffee table.

"Nothing for you to worry about right now, we can talk about it in the morning. It's late you should be getting to bed, it's late." Stefan said, winding his arm around my waist and fanning his hand on my stomach. It was a small gesture, but it was a gesture that bought a smile to my face.

"But I…" I said, and closed my mouth when Stefan folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows.

"Fine, let's go to bed." I said, starting to feel sleepy as I made my way up the staircase.

"I'll be up in a second, baby. Just going to have a word with Damon before I go up." He said.

"Okay, don't fight." I mumbled, knowing they would hear me from downstairs, as I walked into Stefan's bathroom and closed the door.

I showered and blow dried my hair before walking out of the bathroom to find Stefan lounging across his bed, waiting for me. I walked across the room to Stefan's full length mirror and untied my robe, so that I was only wearing his t-shirt.

"Nice shirt, where's that from?" He asked, grinning at me as I shook my head at him.

I stood in front of the full length mirror, pulling the hem of Stefan's t-shirt backwards so that you could see my protruding stomach.

"Stefan, look." I said, laughing as tears filled my eyes. Before I could even blink, Stefan was standing in front of me, his hands on my stomach, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried that he felt something.

"I just don't understand how this has happened, well, how this is possible" He said, pulling me into his arms, one of his hands still resting comfortingly on my stomach.

"I have no idea, Stefan, I didn't cheat on you I swear. You know, I said something to Caroline on the day that I found out I was pregnant. I said, _maybe this is the thing that will finally bring Stefan home. Now all Damon and I need to do is find him,_ and I was right." I said, he reached up with his other hand to wipe away my tears.

"I know you didn't cheat on me, Elena, the thought never even crossed my mind, not even for a second. I'm just confused, I'm sure that this has never happened before."

"I am too. But maybe it's possible because I'm the Doppelgänger or maybe it just happened because we needed something to bring you home, and that miracle came in the form of our daughter." I said, smiling as he laughed alongside me.

"And you're absolutely 100% sure that you are pregnant? You've been to the hospital? How many weeks along did you say you are?" He questioned.

"I didn't say, but the doctor said I was between twelve and thirteen weeks. And yes, I am absolutely 100% sure that I am pregnant, I went with Caroline to the hospital on the day I took the test. I've also been for the ten-week scan, that is where we found out that we were having a girl." I said, sitting between his legs on the bed as he sat up against the headboard.

"You were with Caroline when you found out?" He asked.

"Yeah, it was a Thursday morning and I had skipped school because I wasn't feeling too great. Caroline skipped Alaric's lesson and came over to the house to make sure that I was okay. Eventually after our chat she guessed that I was pregnant and went in to town to get a test and when it came back positive I was so happy Stefan. I might only be eighteen years old but this is something that I've always wanted, I just didn't think we'd ever have it. She came with me to the hospital to make sure that I was, but for my ten-week check-up Caroline had made plans with Bonnie so I was going to go alone…" I was cut off by Stefan before I even finished my sentence.

"You were alone?" He asked, you could see his heart breaking, knowing that he could have been with me but he was with Klaus.

"Now if you would let me finish my sentence…" I trailed off, raising my eyebrows at him.

He nodded and put his hands back on my stomach.

"I was going to go alone, but when I walked into the maternity ward waiting room Damon was sitting there, he said that Caroline sent him because she didn't want me to be alone. Something changed when you were away, you know? Damon and I really sorted out everything between us and I honestly think he is happy for us. I know that he's still the same cocky bastard Damon that he has always been, but think that she's starting to being out his humanity more. Besides, I'm saying this with full knowledge that I will probably regret it tomorrow because I know you can hear me Damon!" I said, I heard a chuckle and I knew that he had heard me.

"I know what you mean, he seemed different when I was talking with him earlier, maybe this baby is the key to his human emotions, maybe the fact that he's going to be an uncle is making him happy." Stefan told me, rubbing circles on my stomach.

"Have you felt her move yet?" He wondered, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"No, not yet. The doctor said anything between thirteen and twenty-five weeks, and by then she'll be kicking me like mad." I laughed.

"I can hear her heartbeat you know, it's the most amazing sound. I'm still confused that after everything that I've done, I was able to help create something that is so pure." He mused quietly.

"Stefan, you don't understand yourself the way I see you. Stefan, regardless of what you have done, every feeling that you have is overshadowed by the love you have for me, and the love that you have for Damon. We were able to create something so pure because it's what you are Stefan, you were pure when you became a vampire and you still are now. I know what you mean though, about the heartbeat. The first time I heard it at the scan I cried my eyes out." I told him, placing my hands over his.

"How do you forgive me for what I did?" Stefan whispered.

"Stefan, there is nothing for me to forgive you for. You did what you did to save Damon and you succeeded. If Klaus decides to come here, let him. He can't get inside of the house and there is nobody left in this town who he could possibly hurt, he knows he can't. As long as I'm with you we'll be safe." I shivered at the thought of Klaus showing up here and taking Stefan away from me again.

"He won't touch you again, I promise." Stefan vowed to me.

"Stefan, I love you." I told him, getting in the sheets and resting my head on his shoulder.

"I love you, too. Sleep well, my love." I heard his reply before I fell into a fitful sleep.

 _ **Dream**_

" _ **I'm here for the half vampire child, sweetheart. You will listen to me…" Klaus trailed off, stepping into a small clearing in the forest.**_

" _ **No, you can't have her, she isn't yours to take." I shouted, tears streaming down my face.**_

" _ **I'll take her if I want to, Elena. You don't seem to realise I always get what I want." Klaus taunted.**_

 _ **"No! You can't have her! Stefan! Stefan!" I yelled, knowing the clearing wasn't far from the boarding house.**_

 _ **I stopped shouting when Klaus started to laugh.**_

" _ **They aren't coming to help, don't you see, they're already here. Turn around." Klaus taunted me further.**_

 _ **I clutched the baby girl wrapped in a purple blanket tightly as I turned around. I was not prepared for what I saw.**_

 _ **Stefan was lying flat on his back, blood running down the side of his grey face from a head wound and a stake in his chest. Damon was beside him, attached to a tree by a piece of metal going through his heart.**_

 _ **I could hear a girl screaming, I looked around the clearing, hoping to find her, hoping that she could help me.**_

 _ **"Please, help me!" I whispered, falling to my knees.**_

" _ **Elena!" I heard Stefan's voice echo in my head.**_

" _ **No, please, don't hurt her!" I cried as Klaus took a step forward to take my daughter away.**_

" _ **Elena! Stop!" I heard Stefan again, only this time his voice was more forceful.**_

 _ **When I looked around the clearing again, it was only Klaus and I alive. There was no screaming girl, only me screaming for help.**_

 _ **End of dream**_

I sat up in bed to find myself cradled in Stefan's lap. I buried my head in his chest, breathing in his scent, hoping it would chase the dream away. To my surprise, it did.

"Stefan…" I cried.

"Shh, you're okay. Everyone is okay, everything's fine." He promised, kissing my forehead reassuringly.

"You were dead, so was Damon. Klaus was here to take her away from me, from us…" I trailed off, crying into his chest.

"He won't come anywhere near you, or her." Stefan vowed.

"What about Damon, is he okay?" I questioned.

Stefan nodded, rubbing his hand in circles on the small of my back.

"He's fine, he's right there take a look for yourself." He said.

True to his word, Damon was leaning against the doorframe of Stefan's bedroom.

I breathed a sigh of relief before resting my head back on Stefan's shoulder.

"Sorry for waking you, Damon. Go back to bed." I apologised.

"It's fine, I was still awake anyway." He reassured me, smiling slightly before closing Stefan's bedroom door as he left.

I sighed into Stefan's shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." I apologised again.

"It's okay, baby. I want you to wake me up every time you have a nightmare, no matter what time it is. Promise me."

"I promise." I said, feeling sleepy again.

"Good, now go back to sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow so we can talk before we head out to school." Stefan muttered.

I yawned before climbing off of his lap and snuggling in the bed beside him, falling asleep for the second time that night.

…

I was woken up early the next morning by someone banging on the front door. I heard Damon shout down the stairs at whoever was banging on the door before I stood up and reached for my robe.

"Stefan, time to wake up, baby." I said, sitting on the bed and running my hand through his hair.

"Be down in a second." He muttered, reaching up and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Okay." I said, slipping on a pair of pyjama bottoms before walking down the stairs.

I found Caroline talking with Damon in the drawing room.

"Care, what are you doing here at," I looked down at my watch, "twenty minutes past six in the morning, and shouldn't Bonnie be with you?" I wondered, only just realising how early it was. Now I understand why Damon was pissed at our early visitor.

"Well! We have tonnes of stuff to talk about, Bonnie complained when I called at 6AM so she said she'd just meet us at school. Where is Stefan?" She asked, looking towards the stairs.

"Yes I know, Care, but twenty past six in the morning? Wait, how did you know that Stefan was home?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, twenty past six in the morning makes sure we have loads of time to talk, and Damon texted me." Caroline said nonchalantly, as if Damon texting her was a regular thing. I looked at Damon, smirking and raising my eyebrows at him. He rolled his eyes and ran at vampire speed out of the room, coming back thirty seconds later wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, closely followed by a tired looking Stefan, who was still wearing pyjama bottoms, and unfortunately, a shirt.

"Caroline, I would say half an hour to talk would have sufficed." Stefan said, throwing himself on the couch and putting a cushion over his face.

"Stefan, we have loads to talk about. First subject is a bit touchy though…" Caroline started but she was interrupted.

"To answer the question that you are about to ask. Yes, I think I am capable of going to school without tearing someone's neck out. Yes, I have been struggling over the last few weeks but I've decided to have a small amount each day until I'm used to it. Yes, I will be going back to my normal animal blood diet. Can I go back to sleep now?" Stefan told us.

"Oh, okay. Well it looks like that question is answered. Does he know?" Caroline asked me, looking directly at my stomach.

"Yes, he knows. But I would rather that she be kept under wraps for as long as possible, I don't need to be known as a slut _and_ the little girl who lost her parents, why am I going back to school again?" I questioned, doubting that people won't notice my twelve-week baby bump.

"Elena, you are not a slut. We will do our best to keep her under wraps but if we don't we can pull you out of school and I'll teach you if you need it." Stefan reassured me, getting up off the couch and wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Yeah, what Stefan said." Caroline agreed, putting her hands on her hips.

"So you are going to continue going to school regardless of what is going on right now, you're all crazy." Damon said, reaching for his scotch.

"Damon, it's half six in the morning!" Caroline exclaimed, Stefan and I on the other hand were used to Damon's drinking habits.

"Yes, and?" He said, pouring it into a glass and rolling his eyes.

"Okay guys, can we at least go and get ready to go to school?" I complained.

"Yes, we need to be there early to make sure we avoid as many people as possible, Elena it's warm out so wear a dress, something floaty like that green dress you got last time we were at the mall." Caroline told, well ordered, me.

"Okay, boss. We'll be down soon." Stefan said, sleepily taking my hand and leading me towards the stairs.

...

An hour and ten minutes later, Stefan and I walked down the staircase to greet Caroline, who continued to tap her foot impatiently until we were standing in front of her.

"No Damon?" I enquired, noticing the now vacant armchair.

"No, my mom called him and he left. You ready?" Caroline asked us.

"Nearly, just need to get my shoes." Stefan said, wincing jokily when Caroline glared at him before taking off up the stairs at vampire speed.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" I sulked, turning sideways so Care could see.

"Elena! I told you, you aren't fat you're pregnant. There is a huge difference!" I heard Stefan shout down the stairs.

"Yes, but we know that, the people at school don't." I complained.

"Yes, but who cares. They can think all they want, the people that matter know the truth and screw everyone else." Stefan said from besides me, startling me.

I rolled my eyes and smacked his chest.

"Will you stop doing that, that's the second time in two days you've scared the hell out of me." I exclaimed, earning a laugh from Caroline and Stefan.

"Okay, miss moody. Let's go, you're driving I didn't bring my car." Caroline said, reaching for her bag and walking towards the door.

"Then how did… never mind." I sighed, not finishing my sentence when I realised that she'd _ran_ here.

Caroline laughed and she was practically bouncing as she walked over to the red mini that sat in the driveway.

I sighed, thinking of Jenna. This _was_ Jenna's car before Klaus showed up and…

I was broken out of my inner thoughts when Stefan stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and placing his hands on my stomach.

"You okay?" He whispered.

"I will be, I just thought that she'd be here when I was going to be a mom." I sighed and Stefan kissed my forehead.

We stayed like that for a few moments before Caroline beckoned us towards the car, I realised that I had the keys in my hand and she was waiting for me to unlock the car.

"Sorry, Care." I apologised.

"No, it's okay. Don't apologise. Even though we weren't close, I kind of miss her too." Caroline said, a small frown appearing on her face.

I smiled at her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, let's get going, we don't want to be late and Stefan isn't driving!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Uh, why?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Because I've seen you driving, some of the time you drive like a normal human being and then other times you drive like a maniac, don't even deny it." Caroline said, raising her eyebrows at him, daring Stefan to deny her statement.

"Sorry, baby but I have to agree with her. I've seen you when you are trying to get somewhere quickly." I said sheepishly.

"Elena, you are supposed to be on my side." Stefan whined playfully.

"I am, I'll drive." I announced, unlocking the car and getting into the driver's seat. Caroline got into the backseat, sitting in the middle and Stefan was sitting in the passenger seat before I even blinked. He smirked at the confused look on my face and I rolled my eyes, starting the car and reversing down the drive.

"So, just to clarify, who at school knows?" Stefan asked, running his hand through his perfectly messy hair.

"Well, the only people that should know are us three and Damon, I also told Jeremy and Bonnies and I think Damon told Alaric but other than that, nobody unless Care has told anybody." I said, looking at Caroline expectantly through the rear window mirror.

"I haven't told anybody, it nearly slipped out when I was talking to Matt but I stopped talking just in time. He kept talking about… no, never mind." Caroline brushed it off.

"He kept talking about what?" Stefan asked, intrigued.

"Well, since we aren't together and I'm spending more time with Tyler nowadays, it was the first time we had spoken in a while. He seemed really interested in you, he was asking loads of questions about you and he seemed _too_ interested in what was going on with Stefan and why he left town so suddenly." Caroline told us quickly.

"Right, and you told him what?" I asked.

"As little as possible, I didn't answer the questions about Stefan and why he left town because I couldn't without giving away too much. I told him that you were okay, everything was fine just that you were missing Stefan like crazy, which was true so I wasn't technically lying to him. He even told me that he went around to your house at one point and spoke to Jeremy. He then told me that he wasn't _happy_ to know that you had suddenly taken up residence at the boarding house."

"He wasn't _happy_? It doesn't have anything to do with him where I was staying, or am staying. I'll talk to him today, I usually see him on the way from home room to first so I'll talk to him then. Why didn't he just talk to me about this if he was so concerned, it's not like I've been skipping school?" I asked, confused at Matt's antics.

"Yeah I guess you could do that. I'm with you in home room and you're with Stefan in history first so you won't be alone with him either way." Caroline said as I pulled into the school parking lot, that was nearly empty. I drove through the lot and parked my car next to Bonnie's car, that she was leaning on waiting for us.

I stopped the car and got out, closely followed by Stefan and Caroline. I walked over to Bonnie and hugged her.

"Hey guys, glad to see you are back Stefan." Bonnie said, smiling at him.

"You don't seem that surprised to see him?" I asked, confused.

"Damon text me and told me." She replied, brushing it off. What was it with Damon texting people recently, _especially_ Bonnie and Caroline?

"Right, anyway, how have you been I feel like I haven't spoken to you in ages." I asked her, Bonnie told me that she was fine, just looking forward to the day being over so she could get back to bed.

"But that's enough about me, how are you and bump?" Bonnie whispered, looking around to make sure that nobody in the quickly filling parking lot had heard us.

"About that, we would prefer it if she was kept under wraps for as long as possible, only about six people know, Stefan and I included. And, we are great, even better that her daddy is home." Looking up at Stefan and grinning when he pulled me into his arms. I felt Stefan stiffen when someone called my name from across the lot.

"Elena, there you are I've been looking for…" Matt stopped talking when he saw Stefan standing behind me.

"Hey, Matt. How's things?" I asked normally.

"Everything's been great, I went over to your house but Jeremy said you weren't there." He said.

"I know, I haven't really been at home a lot recently." I said, smiling in his direction, hoping that he didn't look down and notice the baby bump I was hiding under my dress.

Matt was about to speak when we were interrupted by the first bell.

"Well, I'd best get going. I'll see you at the game right?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe. I'll see you Matt." I waved goodbye as he walked back across the lot to where his friends were standing.

"Come on, let's get you inside." Stefan said, putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me towards the school doors, Caroline and Bonnie walking behind us. Stefan walked alongside me to my home room classroom, not letting go of my hand once. A few people were surprised to see Stefan walking through the corridors, most of them girls who shop him lustful glances as he walked by them. He kissed me goodbye and then walked down the corridor towards his classroom, he waited until I had walked inside with Caroline before going into his own room.

Home room passed by tragically slowly, and by the time I was packing up my textbook and walking out of the door, Stefan was already there waiting for me.

"Have fun?" I asked sarcastically.

"Just as much fun as you had, I'm sure." He replied.

"Anyone ask you any questions?" I asked him as we walked through the crowded corridor to first period, my hand in his.

"Nope, I don't think anyone really cares enough about my sudden disappearance. Besides, people tend to avoid me, it's their basic instinct. What was it you called me again, _mysterious_?" He joked, nudging me slightly with his hip.

"Oh shush," I blushed, "that was before I didn't know why you were being _mysterious_ , now I completely understand why you were. Do you think you would have told me if I didn't figure it out?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. I was falling for you and you, always so inquisitive, kept on asking me questions I couldn't give you any answers to. So basically, in the end it would have been easier to tell you rather Han listen to all of the questions that you had for me." He said, reaching up and putting his arm around my shoulders, he had been avoiding putting his hands on my stomach so that he wouldn't attract attention to it, and frankly I was missing the comfort his touch bought. We got to our classroom and went inside. Even though the lesson didn't start for another ten minutes and students were not allowed in the classroom yet, I hadn't seen Alaric in nearly two weeks. I walked into the classroom behind Stefan to find Alaric sitting behind his wooden desk and Damon leaning against one of the desks talking to one another.

"What's going on? What's happened?" I asked, worried.

"Why would you think something is going on?" Damon asked, confused.

"Because every time I seem to walk into this room and you are here, something has happened or someone has died." I said calmly as possible.

"Elena calm down, nothing has happened and nobody has died, yet." Damon said nonchalantly.

I folded my arms across my chest and groaned, turning around and leaning against Stefan, my head resting on his chest. I took his hands and bought them to rest on my bump, knowing that it would calm me down. Suddenly I stepped away from Stefan, doubling over in pain.

"Elena!" Stefan shouted, picking me up and sitting me on Alaric's desk and holding my face in his hands, his eyes were searching mine for any sign of pain. Luckily for me, the pain came and went. Thank god we were in Alaric's classroom when it happened, not in a crowded corridor. Suddenly, I winced when the pain came again, and I realised that it wasn't pain.

"Stefan, feel." I said, taking his hand and placing it on my stomach. Tears were streaming down my face and his facial expression turned from one of worry to one of happiness.

Caroline chose this moment to burst into the room.

"What happening? I heard Elena, wait why are you all smiling?" Caroline asked, confused.

"She's kicking!" I said through the tears.

Caroline dropped her bag onto the ground and rushed over to me, if Stefan wasn't a vampire he would have been on the floor.

"She is? Can I feel?" She asked quietly.

I nodded my head and she raised her hands, placing them on either side of my bump. I groaned in pain again and Stefan was at my side, I lifted one of Caroline's hands and moved it to the spot where she was kicking. I saw Caroline smile and a tear slip down her face. I reached up to wipe it away, Caroline stepped away and pulled Stefan to the spot where she was standing. He raised his hand slowly and placed his hand on the space Caroline removed her hand from only moments before. He grinned a broad smile when she kicked again. Tears were running down his face and soon I was encased in his arms.

"That's our daughter, Stefan." I said, giggling into his shoulder. I winced again when she kicked the same spot. Stefan pulled away from me and cradled my face in his hands.

"I'm okay, really I am. She's a strong kicker I'll give her that, must get her strength from the vampire side of her because I've never known a woman to be in so much pain when their baby kicks." I said, breathing through the pain of her next kick.

Our moment was interrupted when the door of Alaric's classroom burst open and in walked Tammin Williams, a girl who moved to Mystic Falls after her sister married into a founding family.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" She asked boldly, her eyes zeroing in my stomach, where Stefan's hands still rested.

"Oh…" She said, grinning. You could see the clocks turning in her head.

"Oh for goodness sake." I groaned, I turned to look at Damon.

' _Can't you just compel her?'_ I mouthed at him.

Damon raised one finger at me, telling me he was going to wait to hear what she said.

"My, my if it isn't little Elena, what have you got yourself into?" She chastised me, thinking she had a right to have any opinion on the matter.

"It's none of your business." Stefan said coldly. Tammin was one of the girls who constantly pined after Stefan.

The girl smirked before she turned on her heel and sped out of the room before anyone could stop her, yelling, I could hear her and I'm sure everyone else can too. Damon ran towards the door but turned back around when she started shouting, rolling his eyes at her level of childishness.

"You will never guess what! Elena Gilbert is knocked up!" She yelled, laughing.

I buried my face in Stefan's chest as he held me to him tightly.

"I was a fool to think I could hide her from people." I murmured.

"Shh, it's alright. Come on, we'll go home." Stefan assured me, kissing my forehead.

"No, we will do this lesson and then we can go." I said and I felt him nod.

"I'll excuse you myself once the lesson is done, I'll deal with Tammin too, horrible piece of work that girl is." Alaric said.

"I know right, I remember when she showed up and tried to beat me to the _it girl_ top spot." Caroline laughed.

"Nope, that spot is reserved for you, Blondie." Damon said with a smirk on his face.

Caroline rolled her eyes and was about to make a sarcastic remark back at Damon when the door opened again. I turned around, expecting it to be Tammin or another high school student looking for the gossip, but luckily it was Bonnie and Jeremy.

"We heard, what happened?" Jeremy asked, out of breath from running here.

"She started kicking and Tammin burst in here. She noticed what was going on and decided to shout it in the corridors, wait aren't you two supposed to be in classes?" I asked, still crying.

"No, we were on independent study in the library when someone came in and started telling everyone. This is spreading like wildfire what are you guys going to do?" Bonnie asked, folding her arms.

"Screw them. We're doing this lesson and then Alaric is excusing us…" I trailed off.

"We'll be back though, tomorrow probably. But if it gets too much we won't be coming back, I'll teach Elena if I have too but I'm not having her here around all of these vicious people. Why don't you two come over for dinner tonight, Caroline and Alaric too?" Stefan asked the group.

Everyone agreed to Stefan's offer, everyone went their own way. Bonnie and Jeremy left to go back to the library, promising to be at the boarding house for seven. Damon left after shaking hands with Alaric, saying that he would see us at home. Caroline, Stefan and I walked across the classroom to our desks that were now in the back corner. Caroline sat down in her chair to the left of mine and Stefan leant against my desk, still holding my hand.

"An hour, baby. That's all and if you want to go home, I'm sure Alaric will excuse us earlier if it was necessary." He murmured as Alaric walked over to let the rest of the class in, as class did technically begin five minutes ago. Stefan looked up from me when students began to enter the classroom. A few were laughing, speaking quietly, pointing in our direction, I could feel Stefan's hand shaking.

"Stefan, no. Ignore them they are pathetic. Getting angry isn't going to help anyone right now." I whispered, knowing he would hear me. He nodded and stood up to sit in his seat beside mine, he reached over and took my hand in his, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"Okay, class, everyone in their seats quickly, take your history textbooks out and turn to page 97." Alaric said.

"Now, can someone please tell me a fact about the Russian Partnership?" He asked the class.

After that the class passed slowly. Alaric set independent questions and revision for a test that was supposed to be taken next Friday. For the whole class, Stefan never let go of my hand, he managed to finish his questions in under a minute so he entertained himself by reading a book that I recognised from the library back at the boarding house.

"Okay guys, unfortunately that's all we have time for today so have the questions on page 103 done by Thursday." Alaric said before he excused the class. Stefan and I made our way to the front of the class.

"See you at seven!" Caroline said as she walked out of the door.

"You sure you're going home?" Alaric made sure as he signed the absence slips and handed them to Stefan.

"Yeah, we will see you tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you tonight." Alaric said as we walked out of the classroom and down the hall. As we walked down the hall hand in hand, everyone was turning around and stopping their conversations to look at us.

"Come on, baby, let's go this way." Stefan murmured into my ear as he lead me towards a fire escape. We got to the car and got in when I realised we gave Caroline a ride to school.

"One minute, I need to call Caroline." I said, taking my phone out of my purse. The line rang four times before she answered.

" _Hey, what's up?"_ Caroline greeted me.

"Hey, nothing is up I just realised that we gave you a ride to school and we're leaving now." I said solemnly.

" _Oh, I literally just asked Bonnie for a ride home after school, don't worry about it."_ She told me, giggling.

"Oh, brilliant. I'll see you later." I said.

"Bye, honey." Caroline replied before hanging up.

"Okay, let's go." I said, Stefan put the key into the ignition and started the car.

"Everything will be okay, you know." Stefan broke the comfortable silence, squeezing my hand.

I smiled at him brightly.

"I know, as long as bump and me have you, I know everything will be fine. I really do love you, you know?" I said, reaching over to touch his cheek.

He moved his face sideways and placed a kiss on my palm.

"I know, baby. I love you guys, too." Stefan replied as we pulled into the driveway.

"Good, Damon's here he can help me cook for tonight." Stefan said happily.

"I could help." I replied, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind me.

Stefan just laughed and re-took my hand in his as we walked through the front door.

"Nope. Sorry, Elena but your cooking could probably kill me and that isn't the easiest thing to do." He joked, kissing me chastely before walking into the kitchen to prepare for the evening of fun ahead.

 _ **Hi everyone! I really hoped you enjoyed the first chapter of Eternal, the next chapter will be up as soon as it's finished! About the history subject, I'm not 100% sure of the history topics they teach in the US, but I'm currently doing the Russian Partnership on my A Level History course.**_

 _ **Really hope you liked it, See you soon!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Eternal**

 **Chapter 2**

 _ **Welcome back! Here's the second chapter of Eternal, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**_

 _ **I know that there is a character that has died in this chapter, but I hated the way that he died in the series. To be honest, I wanted to give Damon the satisfaction of killing him because I hated this character's death.**_

 _ **Disclaimer – I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any companies that are mentioned throughout this fiction.**_

 **Elena POV**

"Remember we don't have any school tomorrow, we have my twenty-week scan, you're still coming, right?" I asked Stefan who was sipping on a glass of scotch with a drop of blood in it. Over the last few weeks, Stefan has been doing really well with his control. He had been having a small drop of blood every day so that he could build back up his tolerance.

It was a Monday evening and we were lounging in the living room, I had a textbook open on my lap.

"I don't want to do this work anymore." I complained, closing my textbook and moving over to sit on Stefan's lap, his hands automatically went to my stomach, which was growing more and more every day. Stefan and I were interrupted from our moment when the front door opened and Damon walked in.

"Hello, brother. Elena." Damon said, walking through into the drawing room and heading straight for his scotch.

"You know, I heard another rumour today…" Damon announced when he'd sat down.

"Care to share, brother?" Stefan asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"I heard this amazing rumour, it totally must be true," he gushed, "What it was, is that the angelic Stefan Salvatore left town because he was so ashamed that he had bought so much shame upon the founding families." Damon exaggerated, taking a sip of his scotch once he'd finished speaking.

"Ashamed of shaming the founding families?" Stefan questioned disbelievingly.

Damon raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger! I heard it when I was walking through the school today." Damon told us nonchalantly.

"And you were at the school because?" I questioned.

"Because, Elena, I went to see my good buddy Alaric." Damon replied, taking off his trademark leather jacket and putting it on the back of the armchair he was sitting on.

"Oh right. The people in this town are so unbelievably low. Shaming the founding families, are they serious? Even though they keep saying it, it's never about me shaming the Gilbert family, only the Salvatore's? I don't understand why." Stefan said.

"Because nearly every member of the Gilbert family is dead, the Gilbert name will end with Jeremy and his children." I told him.

"What about bump?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Nope, this baby will be a Salvatore. No Gilbert name to mess her up as well." I argued.

"Then what about you?" He asked me, smiling.

"Well, that all depends."

"Depends on what?" He asked, his grin widening.

"Whether I decide to change my name from Gilbert anytime soon." I said, brushing off the question and trying my best to hide my smile. Life at the moment was good. Albeit I have lost many people along the way, my mom and my dad, and then Jenna.

"Well, we will have to see about that won't we." He said, rubbing circles on my stomach. I winced when she kicked, responding to her daddy's touch like she always did.

"Stop kicking your mommy so hard." Stefan whispered, pressing his lips to my bump.

I giggled when she kicked the spot he kissed.

Our moment was interrupted for a second time when my phone started to ring. I reached over to the coffee table and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I said.

" _Hey Elena, I'm just calling to give you a heads up."_ It was Jeremy.

"Oh? Give me a heads up on what?" I questioned.

" _John is back in town."_ Jeremy muttered, knowing I wouldn't be happy.

"What! Does he know where I am?" I shouted.

" _Yeah, he came here and barged into the house like it was his. I was in the living room with Bonnie and when I said you were out he just assumed you were at Stefan's. Do you think he knows about the baby?"_ Jeremy asked.

"For goodness sake and I thought this situation couldn't get any worse. And I don't think so, how could he know, he's been out of town for months?" I replied.

" _Well, I'm going to get back to Bonnie. Tell Damon if he needs help hiding the body I'll be there in no time."_ Jeremy joked and I heard Damon chuckle.

"Thanks, Jer, speak soon." I said before I hung up.

I groaned, lying down on the couch so my head was on Stefan's lap.

"You can't answer the door, he knows what you are he could hurt you." I summarised, looking between Stefan and Damon.

"I'd love to see him try to stake me." Damon rolled his eyes.

"Damon, he nearly burnt you to death, and then Stefan could have killed himself going into the fire that night." I huffed.

"Elena, he's not a vampire he can get into the house regardless of whether we want him here or not, he can get in the house without going through the front door he's done it before. How about, when he gets here we can go upstairs and Damon can deal with _John."_ Stefan spat his name.

"Why is he even back? There isn't anything here for him. He knows how Jer and I feel about him and he may be my biological father but I don't want a relationship with…" I was interrupted for the third time that night by the door knocking. I groaned and snuggled into Stefan's lap further, he reached behind him and took a blanket from the back of the chair before draping it over me, trying to conceal my 20-week baby bump.

"Damon, answer the door please. Can you close the drawing room doors though so he can't see through?" I asked him.

Damon nodded and got up. He walked out of the drawing room and closed the large wooden doors. I could vaguely hear him opening the door and making a snide comment at John. Stefan was stock still beside me, listening to the conversation.

 **Damon POV**

I closed the drawing room doors and walked slowly over to the front door. I took my time unlocking the locks before I swung the door open to reveal _John Gilbert._

"Well, well, what brings the trash to my doorstep?" I remarked.

"I'm here to see Elena, she is here isn't she?" He asked, trying to look over my shoulder into the house and failing miserably.

"No, she isn't." I said, moving away from the door to close it.

John put his foot in the door, I would have closed it on his foot but that would have broken my front door.

"Yes, she is, where is my daughter, Damon?" He sneered at me.

"Daughter, you are kidding me, right?" I laughed.

"Yes, daughter. Now get out of my way, demon." He sneered again, stepping around me and walking towards the drawing room.

"Wouldn't go in there if you value your life." I said and he rolled his eyes at me before opening the drawing room doors.

 **Elena POV**

I looked up when the doors slid open, expecting so see Damon. When the person I saw wasn't Damon I shivered and buried my face in Stefan's neck, refusing to have the conversation I knew he wanted to have.

"Come on, Elena." He said, and I looked up. He was beckoning me in his side like he had any authority over my life.

"Come on, where?" I asked, intrigued.

"Home. I have told you before that you are not allowed in this house _or_ allowed around these _monsters_." He answered, looking at Stefan with a disgusted expression.

"You are kidding me, right?" I asked, amused. I made no effort to move from Stefan's side.

"Elena Gilbert I am your father, I am trying to protect you." He tried.

"I don't need protection from you, that is what Stefan is for, Stefan actually _loves_ me and _wants_ to protect me" I said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Elena, you are coming home, now. I have come back to town to take care of you and Jeremy now that Jenna got herself killed." He said coldly.

" _Got herself killed!_ Are you freaking kidding me? Someone please tell me that _he_ hasn't just waltzed in here and said that." I said, looking do Stefan and Damon who were still glaring at John.

"Yes, I said it, Jenna got herself involved in something she…" he trailed off, I looked up to see why he had stopped speaking.

"Oh god." I muttered, noticing that his eyes were locked on my stomach.

"What have you done?" He asked quietly.

"What have I done? I haven't _done_ anything." I muttered. Stefan snaked his arm around my waist and placed his hand on my stomach, I winced when the baby kicked the spot his hand was on.

"Elena." John warned.

"What John?"

"You're pregnant? By who?" He mumbled.

"Yeah, I am, and she's Stefan's." I said, stating the obvious.

"Elena, you are eighteen years old and you're still at school! Are you getting rid of _it_?" He questioned rudely.

Firstly, he thought that he had the _audacity_ to waltz in here and criticise Jenna, and then he thought he had the right and the place to call my baby an _it_!

"I am well aware of the circumstances, and no I will not be _getting rid_ of her, do not call my baby an it!" I shouted, standing up and letting the blanket slip from around me, revealing my stomach.

"Baby? That is not a baby, that _thing_ isn't even fully human." He sneered and I launched at him, only to be pulled back by Stefan's arms around my waist.

"Stefan let me go! Now!" I shouted and his grip around my waist tightened. I turned around in his embrace and started punching his chest with my fists, after a while the anger wore off and I began to sob into his chest.

"You need to leave, now. You come back to this house again and you will not walk out of it alive. Do you understand me?" Stefan asked, his voice bordering on murderous.

"I will be back to sort out this mess, believe me." He said boldly before he walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

I continued to sob into Stefan's chest, although some of my anger remained.

"Shh, he's gone."

"He is? For how long this time though? He will keep showing up in my life exactly when I don't want him there, when she is born, or when we decide we want to get married?" I cried.

"He had better not show up again, I'll break his legs." Stefan muttered darkly.

"I second that, brother." Damon said, raising his glass of whisky in our direction.

"I need to call Jeremy." I said, reaching over and taking my phone from the arm of the couch.

The phone line rang a few times before he answered.

" _Hey, how did it go? Did he show up there?"_ Jeremy asked.

"Yep, it went as well as you thought it would. He blamed Jenna's death on her and then called my baby an _it_ before asking whether I was getting rid of her. Stefan was murderous." I said.

" _Right, so I'm guessing it went well?"_ Jeremy joked, trying his best to lighten the conversation.

"Anyway, I was just calling you to give you a heads up, call it repaying the favour. He's planning on coming back over there, apparently, he's back in town to _take care_ of us, so I suggest that you bolt the doors so he can't get in." I advised. I knew it was petty, but I needed that man out of town, and our of my life as soon as possible.

" _Will do, I'll call you tomorrow after your appointment to see how it went. It will be later on in the evening though, me and Bonnie are going to dinner."_ He told me.

"You are huh?" I asked, joking with him.

" _Elena, don't do this to me."_ He whined.

"What! I'm your sister it's my duty to pester you about your relationships, especially when you are dating my best friend." I joked.

" _Well sister, as your brother I never actually wound you up about Stefan, so…"_ he trailed off.

"Okay, fair point Jer. I'll speak to you tomorrow, enjoy your date." I joked one more time, I couldn't resist.

" _Bye, Elena."_ Jeremy chucked before he ended the call.

"If he's got nowhere to go, maybe he will just leave town." I guessed, leaning into Stefan's side as he lead me towards the stairs, after all it was getting late.

"Night, Damon." I muttered sleepily. I heard Damon say goodnight before I was in Stefan's arms and in Stefan's room in a second.

Stefan set me on the bed and walked over to his dresser to retrieve a pair of pyjama pants for him and a t-shirt for me.

"You know, we should really start thinking about a name you know, I'm half way through my pregnancy tomorrow." I said as I slipped out of my dress and replaced it with the shirt Stefan handed me.

"We should, where is that book Caroline got for us?" He wondered.

"Um, on your desk I think." I said standing up and walking over to his desk. I lifted up a few books and a few letters before I found the book, _5000 Baby Names._

"So, what are we thinking?" He asked, opening the book to the contents page.

"I was thinking of something that isn't heard of much, something unusual like the circumstances." I said.

"Okay, let's take a look." He said, flipping to the names that began with A.

"I quite like the names Morgan, or Gracie if we were going to go for something unusual, but I don't think they are old enough." I said as he started to read names off the list.

"Abigail?"

"Definitely not." I grimaced.

"Amelia?" He suggested.

"Uh, maybe. What's the origin?"

"Well, from experience I know it was a name that was used a lot in the 20s, but…" he trailed off.

"After that description, I don't think I like Amelia any more." I said,

"If we are after something old, let's go to the decade part of the book? What decade?" He wondered, going back to the contents page.

"Uh, I don't know. What have you been thinking?" I asked.

"1850s? I was born in 1847, maybe the 1840s?" He replied.

After scrolling through the book, Stefan came to a page labelled ' _popular names of the 1850s'._

"Well whoever wrote this book got something right, I recognise a lot of these names from back then and I'm sure you do too; Anna, Emily, _Katherine."_ He shuddered at the mention of her name. We knew that Katherine was still in Mystic Falls, lurking, waiting for the first opportunity to get Stefan back.

"Nope, definitely not. What about that one, Eliza? Have you ever come across an Eliza?" I asked, he shook his head.

"Well then, if you like it then that's a nice name for her?" I wondered.

"Yes, I like it. It's old enough, but still original at the same time." He said, turning the page.

"What else can you find?"

"Well, this one isn't on this page but what do you think about naming her after Jenna?" Stefan asked quietly.

"I don't think that I could have her forename as Jenna, it would upset me too much, maybe a middle name?" I questioned.

"Yeah, that's definitely a candidate. So, we like the name Morgan. Maybe we should go for Morgan Jenna or Gracie Jenna?" He asked.

"I think I prefer the second one, Gracie Jenna." I announced.

"Yeah, I think I prefer that too, besides we can always change our minds we have time before she is born." He said.

"We do, just not a lot." I breathed.

"We have plenty of time to do everything that we need before she arrives, don't worry everything will be okay, I promise." He vowed.

"Will it? Klaus is still out there, so is Katherine. John knows what you and Damon are, he even knows about Caroline, he could tell the council, then what?"

"Well, if you remember Caroline told Tyler Lockwood about everything. He will warn us if he did, we would have time to leave before anything happens. He knows what would happen if he did, I'd live up to that threat I made in the hospital." He reassured me, slightly.

"What threat did you make?"

"I told him I'd turn him if he came back here, and he did. Twice." Stefan told me, sighing at the man's ignorance.

"He would hate himself more than he could ever possibly hate me." I summarised, sighing.

"Elena, I don't think he hates you."

"If he didn't, he does now. In his eyes, I'm carrying the _spawn of Satan._ " I spat, Stefan chuckled at my choice of words.

"Well you aren't, she's our miracle. Gracie Jenna Gilbert-Salvatore." He said, kissing along my cheekbone.

" _No,_ Gracie Jenna _Salvatore._ No Gilbert, only Salvatore. Like you and like I would like to be." I said boldly.

"You do, really?" Stefan asked, grinning.

"Of course, I do, I love you Stefan." I said, leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you, too." He murmured against my lips. I giggled and crawled up to Stefan's side, he was sitting on the bed, leaning up against the headboard.

"Come on, time to go to sleep, if you don't you won't wake up in the morning for your appointment." He said as I moved away from him and got into the sheets.

Stefan moved behind me so he could put his arm around my waist, splaying his hand on my stomach. After a few minutes, I fell into the first nightmare-free sleep in a long while.

…

I woke up the next morning groggily. I blindly reached over to the bedside cabinet to get my phone to check the time.

 _5:48_

I sighed, our appointment wasn't until 10:15. I turned over in bed so I was facing Stefan, he looked so peaceful and content when he was sleeping, but I was badly craving blueberry pancakes and ice cream. There was no way I could cook them without setting the house on fire.

"Stefan…" I whispered. Stefan stirred slightly before falling back to sleep.

"Stefan!" I whisper-shouted, running my knuckles across his cheek slowly. Stefan sighed and reached up to bat my hand away.

"Stefan, Gracie's hungry." I whispered, leaning towards him to kiss him, knowing it would wake him up.

"Elena, what?" He asked sleepily, covering his eyes with his hand.

"It's time for breakfast." I lied.

He sat up and looked at the clock on his bedroom wall.

"Breakfast? It's not even 6AM yet." He whined, getting out of bed, he knew if I was craving something I usually got it.

"What are you craving?" He asked, leaning over to kiss my forehead.

"Blueberry pancakes and ice cream." I said, smiling sweetly at him.

"Okay, back soon." He said, walking across the bedroom and down the stairs.

After a few minutes, I got bored and got out of bed, I put on my robe and my slippers and walked down to the kitchen. When I looked into the kitchen it was a sight to behold. Stefan was leaning over the stove with no shirt on, his bed hair splayed messily.

"You know, some people say it's rude to stare." He joked, lifting a pancake out of the pan and setting it down on a plate.

"Wasn't staring, I think gazing is the word you are looking for." I giggled, walking over to the freezer and pulling out a tub of ice cream.

"Can't believe it's not even 6 o'clock yet." Stefan muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I know, I'm sorry, baby. If I wasn't getting cravings I wouldn't be eating this at all, I would prefer not to put on _even more_ weight." I sulked, taking a bite of the perfectly cooked pancake.

"You have hardly put on anything, you have one of those massively cliché perfectly rounded baby bumps. Besides, you are always beautiful to me." Stefan complimented, walking over to the bar stool I was sitting on and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Thank you for getting up for me, you can go back to bed and I'll wake you when it's time to wake up." I said, he kissed my forehead.

"No, I'm okay. And it was a pleasure, but, I'll think I'll go hunting. I'll only be a few hours; I won't be able to feed for a few days if we get the storm they are predicting." He told me.

"Okay, but be safe and take Damon with you. I know how he feels about it but I would feel a lot happier if the two of you were together." I asked of him.

"Okay, if it makes you feel better I'll take him with me, but you are waking him up." I grimaced at the thought.

I thought about the potential consequences of waking up Damon, but they outweighed the consequences of what _could_ happen if Stefan went into the woods alone. I kissed Stefan chastely before walking off in the direction of Damon's bedroom. I knocked before and heard Damon groan. I smirked slightly and pushed the door open, narrowly avoiding a cushion that was thrown in my direction.

"I'm not doing what you are about to ask me to do." He said, not making any effort to get up.

"Damon, please. It would make me feel so much better if you were with him, especially with all of the people that seem to be after us at the moment." I signed, running my hand through my hair.

"Fine." He moaned, taking a cushion and pulling it over his face.

After that, I decided to take my leave. I walked down the stairs to find Stefan putting on a pair of shoes. I walked over and sat beside him on the couch.

"Promise me you'll be careful, both of you." I said, noticing that Damon was walking down the stairs.

"We will, and we will be back for about nine thirty and then you and I can go to the appointment." Stefan said. He kissed me quickly before he followed Damon out of the front door and into the forest.

Over the next hour and a half, I fidgeted and I paced, waiting for the front door to swing open, but it never did. I waited another forty-six minutes, and finally the door opened, but it was Caroline.

"Hey, Lena'." Caroline said, putting her bag down on the couch, I pulled my arm away from my eyes to look at her.

"What's up with you?" She asked, concerned.

"Stefan isn't home yet. Damon went with him, and he isn't back yet either." I said, on the verge of going out to look for them, twenty weeks pregnant or not.

"Well what time did they leave?" She asked.

"Like two and a half hours ago. He said they'd be back by nine thirty and I know it's only nine but I'm still scared." I told her, worried.

"If they're not back in the next hour I'll go out and look for them." Caroline said, taking off her jacket and slouching down on the couch beside me.

"What about school?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not leaving you like this. The stress isn't good for you." Caroline said, I put my head on her shoulder, trying to relax.

"What if I lose him again, Care?" I whispered.

"You won't, I promise. Let's watch some bad reality TV to try to take your mind of it, have you eaten?" Caroline wondered.

"Yeah, I have, I was craving pancakes this morning to Stefan cooked for me before he left." I said, closing my eyes.

"That's it, go to sleep, relax Elena." Caroline assured me, stroking my hair.

I was woken up a while later by the front door opening. Caroline stood up and went over to Stefan and Damon as soon as they stumbled through the door. Stefan had a blood patch and a hole in the grey hoodie he had worn to go out this morning. There had obviously been a wound there but it had healed. His hair was all dishevelled, it was obvious that something had happened in the woods. Damon was in the same condition, if not worse. He still had blood that had dried running down his left arm and a blood patch on his chest.

"Stefan!" I gasped, running towards him. He opened his arms and I practically leapt into them, locking my arms around his neck, refusing to let go. His feelings mirrored mine, he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.

"What happened?" I asked, taking a step back and looking at their dishevelled appearances.

"John Gilbert is dead." Damon said, taking off his bloody shirt and replacing it with another.

"How? What happened out there?" I gasped, my hand raising to cover my mouth.

"We think he was waiting for me. Usually I'm only out hunting in the woods alone and he was waiting in the woods with a stake, not expecting Damon to be with me." Stefan said, still holding onto me tightly.

"Then what?" Caroline asked.

"Well Damon and I separated, I went north. He was standing in a clearing, I called for Damon and he came out of the opposite end of the clearing. John was shocked to see him there and he lunged at me, getting the stake in my stomach. When I healed, I went to get him off Damon but he stabbed the stake in his chest before I could do anything. Damon took him out after that." Stefan said, looking at me to gauge my reaction.

"So, whose is the blood?" I asked, pointing at Damon's stained shirt that was on the coffee table.

"His." Damon said nonchalantly, reaching for his glass of scotch.

"And you did what with the body?" I questioned.

"Took it to the sheriff, told her we found it in the woods, it was the best thing to do." Damon said.

"He's right, Elena," Caroline agreed, "he only bought hardship and sadness into your life, and in their defence, Stefan has warned him twice."

"No, I'm not angry. Just shocked." I said, turning to Stefan.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, tears spilling onto my cheeks.

"Yeah, all healed and ready for our appointment, I promise." He vowed.

"You're sure? I don't want to believe that he was capable of that. I mean, I know he hated vampires but to try and kill the love of his daughters' life and her baby's father?" I sighed, surprised at myself that I was disappointed in him, I wasn't aware that I cared.

"I know, baby. Let's go to the appointment, hopefully it will make us feel better." Stefan said, muttering a goodbye to Damon and Caroline before leading me to my car. I handed him the keys and got into the passenger seat. Stefan waited until we were out of hearing range until he started speaking.

"So, what is going on between Caroline and Damon recently?" He wondered.

"No idea. I mean, I know she has been seeing more of Tyler Lockwood but I don't think they are a _thing._ I know she had lots of feelings for Matt for a long time but they grew apart. Maybe because all other relationships haven't worked for them, they are looking for solace in each other." I suggested.

"I don't know, seems legitimate enough. Imagine if they were together though, their fights would be a nightmare." He laughed.

"Wouldn't they just?" I laughed alongside Stefan as he drove the car into the hospital parking lot.

"What was Caroline doing there when we got back? Wasn't she supposed to be at school?" Stefan asked, furrowing his eyebrows adorably.

"Yeah I guess she was. I forgot to ask why she was there, maybe we were right and she was there to see Damon. I was so glad she was there though, we watched bad reality TV and chatted whilst we waited for you and Damon to come back home, I was really worried about you." I murmured, reaching over and putting my hand on top of his on the steering wheel.

"I know, I'm so sorry Elena. I told you I wouldn't do that again and I did." Stefan looked down as he put the car in park.

"Stefan, this was completely different, you know that. This was not under your control and I am so glad you are safe, I don't know what I'd do without you." I said, shedding a watery smile.

"And I without you, my love. Now, I am so excited to see our daughter for the first time, so shall we." He asked, getting out of the car and speeding around to my door, opening if for me.

"We shall, and we need photographs this time the woman last time didn't give me any." I grumbled, lacing my hand with his and walking towards the hospital entrance beside him.

"Who did you have last time?" He wondered.

"Dr Porth or Dr Perth or something like that, I was far too emotional for details." I chuckled quietly.

"Well I agree, we definitely need photographs. We can put one in that baby book Bonnie got for us." He suggested.

Stefan and I made our way through the hospital as quickly as possible, I knew a hospital wasn't an easy place for a vampire. Eventually we found our way to the maternity ward where we sat down in the waiting room, waiting for our name to be called, we only had to wait a few minutes.

"Salvatore?" A woman in black slacks and a blue medical coat announced as she walked into the waiting room.

Stefan smiled at the mention of my chosen registered surname and he took my hand in his, following the doctor down the corridor.

"Okay, Elena. I'm sure you know the drill." The doctor, Dr King, said.

I jumped up on the table and lay down, raising my shirt to reveal the stomach.

"As you know, it's cold." The doctor warned and I winced when the cold solution was put onto my stomach.

The doctor moved the wand around for a few seconds, trying to find the best image. Stefan's eyes were glued to the interactive screen the whole time, his face lit up when the clear image of a baby came up on the screen.

"And there she is… about nineteen to twenty weeks. Looks a good sized, healthy baby." The nurse smiled, pausing the image on the baby.

I looked at Stefan and pulled him closer to me, it wasn't a difficult thing to do his eyes were still glued to the screen.

"That's our daughter, Stefan." I whispered, he beamed and leant down to kiss me passionately.

"I will be back, I'm going to print your prescription for some pregnancy vitamins." The doctor smiled before walking out of the room. Stefan reached over to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

"I love you so much, thank you so much for giving me this gift." Stefan whispered, I giggled and wiped the solution from my stomach with a towel.

"I love you too, this is the beginning of an amazing thing for all of us, we are growing our family." I beamed.

The doctor chose this moment to walk back into the room, clutching a prescription and a medication bottle in her hand.

"Okay, this is your prescription for your pre-natal vitamins and these are medically prescribed aspirin that are okay to take when pregnant. The reason we are giving you these is because you are a bit bigger than normal at twenty weeks, it's nothing to worry about but it may cause minor back pain. Did you want photographs?" She asked the both of us.

I nodded my head and the doctor walked over to the printer to collect the photographs, putting them in an envelope before handing them to Stefan.

"Thank you." We thanked her before we walked out of the room and back down to the car, smiles on our faces and our hand in each other's the whole journey home.

 _ **That's all I've got for chapter two, I know it was shorter than chapter one, this chapter was only 5520 words but I am currently in full time education doing four A Levels. I'll be back as soon as possible I promise!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Eternal**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Elena POV**

"Stefan!" I yelled out for the second time. I was currently sitting in bed, having only just woken up.

"He'll be back soon, Elena." I heard Damon say from where he was now leaning against the doorframe.

"Where is he?" I asked, worried.

"He's just gone into town and I'm here to make sure you and bump don't do anything stupid." He said, signalling to my bulging stomach.

I looked down at the growing bump, sighing. I couldn't even see my feet now.

"Damon in 29 weeks pregnant what _stupid_ things does he think I can get myself into?" I questioned him.

"Well there was the time that you thought it would be a good idea to go out and get ice cream at two in the morning…"

"I was craving it." I said.

"And there was that _extremely_ long list of stupid things that you did when Katherine was around…"

I just rolled my eyes and flopped back onto the cushions.

"I can go on if you want, I've got a whole list of stupid things you've done since you met me and Stefan." Damon told me, smirking.

"Okay, Damon I get the picture. Just think of what I could have done with all of the free time I would have had if I wasn't constantly cleaning up your mess." I summarised, raising my eyebrows.

"She's got you there, brother." Stefan said, walking into the room. He walked over to the bed and helped me sit up against the headboard.

"Where did you go? I woke up and you weren't here." I asked, raking my fingers through his unruly hair.

"I just went into town to run some errands." He brushed it off. I raised my eyebrows, knowing he wasn't being entirely truthful, but nodded nonetheless.

We were pulled from our moment by Damon, naturally.

"By the way, _all the time you could have saved_? Imagine how much earlier Damonette Salvatore could have been conceived." Damon shouted as he walked down the stairs.

"We're not calling her that!" Stefan shouted after his brother, getting up off the bed

"No, not yet." I whined, pulling him back.

"Elena, honey you need to get ready for the baby shower, it starts at twelve." He said, pulling he into a hug. Hugging Stefan was something that was becoming more and more difficult every day, and I was not happy about it in the slightest.

"Why is Caroline throwing a shower?" I whined, putting my head on his shoulder.

"As soon as she found out you were pregnant she's been planning this, you weren't expecting this?" Stefan questioned, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.

"Of course I was expecting it, but it doesn't mean that I want to get out of my comfy bed. Don't make me." I pulled my best pout and leaned into kiss him, knowing he wouldn't be able to deny anything I asked once I did.

Moments passed and I was straddling Stefan's hips, my baby bump making it incredibly difficult. We were interrupted when Stefan's bedroom door swung open to reveal Caroline, covering her eyes. She took her hands away cautiously when I started to laugh.

"Elena, get off Stefan, you need to get ready. Guests will be arriving soon." She said, walking through the room and into the closet where she picked out a red summer dress for me to wear.

"But I'm so comfortable." I whined, burying my head into Stefan's neck.

"Elena. Up. Now." Caroline demanded before she took her leave, not turning to close the door behind her.

"My sources tell me that we've got ten minutes if Damon can distract her." Stefan whispered, tapping his ear.

"We do huh?" I teased, moving to capture his lips with mine.

Six weeks ago, Stefan and I had still been unsure about what exactly was going on between Caroline and Damon. It wasn't until we walked through the front door to find them in a _very_ compromising position we understood. Since then, Caroline had been splitting the majority of her available time between spending time with Damon and planning the _dreaded_ baby shower.

…

"Hey, Bonnie!" I said, waddling over to hug her.

The room was filled with people, although I knew that Caroline had to stop herself from inviting more people on more than one occasion. I looked around the room to see the people she had invited. Tyler and Matt were standing by the window, taking part in what looked like a pleasant conversation between them. Jeremy and Bonnie were there too, and of course Caroline. Damon and Stefan were standing behind me, whispering amongst themselves, if it weren't for the smile on Stefan's face you'd think something bad was happening. Alaric was standing near them too, it was obvious that he knew what was going on too. Sheriff Forbes was here too, mingling with a group of other guests.

"So, what do you think?" Caroline interrupted my train of thought.

"It looks great, thank you so much Caroline. You invited just the right amount of people, but I really need to sit down my back is killing." I complained quietly.

Stefan was by my side within a second, guiding me towards the couch.

"Thank you." I sighed gratefully.

"You're welcome, baby." He said, kneeling in front of me and cupping one of my cheeks in his hand.

Before I even knew what was happening, everyone was gathered around us and Stefan was in front of me on one knee. Caroline squealed quietly.

"Shh, Blondie." Damon whispered in her ear.

I bought my hands up and covered my mouth, smiling wildly at what was about to happen.

"Elena," Stefan said, reaching forward and putting a small velvet box in my palm, "when I moved back to Mystic Falls, you were the person to being me back to life, you were the person to restart my unbeating heart, and now you've given me the best gift possible. I may look slightly dumb, but I have caught every one of the _not so subtle_ hints you've been dropping for weeks. So, Elena Gilbert, would you please do me the honour of becoming Mrs Elena Salvatore?" He asked, grinning slightly.

I couldn't form the word 'yes' so I just nodded my head erratically and jumped into his arms. If I hurt him, he didn't show it.

After what felt like hours, I stepped out of Stefan's embrace and turned to face the crowd. The next half an hour consisted of hugs and congratulations from the guests.

"See, baby. You're mommy and daddy are getting married." I whispered, resting my hands on my bump.

Before the shower was over, we had food and cake, which were both delicious. Next Stefan and I sat and opened presents that we received from the guests. We had piles of clothes and baby necessities, and a bag of lingerie from Caroline that I refused to open.

"Doesn't look like that was necessary otherwise I wouldn't have a niece on the way." Damon whispered to Ric, Caroline hit the back of his head.

"Did everyone know that this was happening?" Lifting my left hand, where the beautiful ring now sat.

I looked around each one of our guests, each one of them had a guilty expression on their face.

"Aww, would you look at that." I heard someone sneer from the doorway.

Everyone looked up in the direction of the sound.

 _Katherine_

"What are you doing here?" Damon demanded.

"Well, I heard through the grapevine that little _Elena_ was pregnant, wanted to see for myself whether it was true." She said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"So now you've seen, you can leave." Stefan said, taking a step closer to Katherine.

"Not yet." She smirked.

"Exactly what else do you want Katherine?" Stefan demanded.

"I want to know how it's possible." She asked innocently.

"Well you're out of luck, we have no idea." Caroline said, addressing Katherine for the first time.

"Well, what we going to do about that? I want an answer." She said darkly, reminding us that she ' _wasn't to be messed with.'_

I didn't even blink and Stefan was across the room in front of her, blocking her path to me, Damon was a step behind him.

"Leave. Now." Stefan demanded.

"But, Stefan." Katherine pouted, furrowing her eyebrows and sticking out her bottom lip.

My human eyes must have missed the devious grin that passed over Katherine's features but before I could run or turn around she had her arm around my neck.

"Don't come any closer." She threatened, her grip on my neck tightening.

"Katherine…" Damon warned.

"Now, this is how it's going to go down. You are going to find out how this is possible and then you can have _her_ back. I'll be back for my answer in 24 hours and if you don't have it, well let's say you can kiss goodbye to your girlfriend and your _miracle child._ " She sneered, you could practically feel her jealousy.

"Until then." She muttered before she dragged me out of the house and into the woods at vampire speed, removing any trace of us behind her.

 **General POV**

Before anyone could move from where they were standing, Katherine had dragged Elena out of the door. Stefan made the first step towards the door before Alaric stopped him.

"Stefan, think about this." He asked.

"What is there to think about Ric? She has my fiancée and my daughter!" Stefan replied through his teeth, he was murderous.

"We need a plan." Alaric said, turning to Bonnie and Jeremy.

"Okay, Bonnie can you do a locator spell. Jeremy's blood would work but Stefan's might too because of the baby?" Ric asked, Bonnie nodded.

"Matt and Tyler, take the Sheriff into town and the woods and search there." They nodded, picking up their coats and Liz picking up her gun belt before following the boys out the door.

"Caroline, Stefan, Damon, we will wait here for them to do the locator spell and then we will go and find her. I do have a question though." Alaric asked.

"What?" Damon wondered, handing out glasses of bourbon.

"What are we going to do with Katherine when we find her?"

"I'm going to kill her." Damon said darkly.

"No, I am going to kill her. This is the last time she tries to take people I love from me." Stefan argued.

"Okay, brother." Damon said, resting a reassuring hand on Stefan's shoulder.

"She's twenty nine weeks pregnant, what if something goes wrong?" Stefan whispered.

"We'll get them back, Stefan." Caroline said, hugging Stefan.

"Okay, we've got a location on them." Bonnie said from where her and Jeremy were leaning over a map on the pool table.

"Well?" Ric asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Katherine has Elena at the Lockwood House, call Tyler." Bonnie said, Jeremy took out his phone.

"Okay, let's go." Stefan said, not bothering to wait for anyone to protest before he walked out of the front door.

 _ **Sorry about the cliffhanger guys, but I really wanted to leave at least**_ _ **one**_ _ **cliffhanger in this short fic.**_

 _ **Please try to R &R, I love your reviews!**_

 _ **Lots of love,**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Eternal**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Elena POV**

I woke up slowly, wincing when I raised my hand to my head and caught a cut with my nail. I lifted my head slowly, wincing again, before looking around the room. I noticed where I was immediately, I had been here many times in my life. I was sitting, leaning against the wall of Tyler's dads study at the Lockwood house. I knew that Katherine was nearby, and I knew that Stefan would move heaven and earth to make sure he found Gracie and I safely.

"Wakey, wakey." I heard her sneer from where she was sitting in a plush armchair in the middle of the room.

I acted on instinct and tried to move away from her but I was stuck. An iron clasp had been attached around my wrist and attached to the wall, there was no way I was escaping on my own. I signed realising that fact, but I was still confused.

"How long have I been here?" I muttered groggily.

"About eight hours, my plan worked and Bonnie couldn't get an accurate location on you as you were passed out. They're all going crazy looking for you, in town an in the woods, even the werewolf is helping. I think Bonnie used a locator spell with Stefan's blood in the end to get a trace on _that,_ " She grimaced, pointing towards my swollen abdomen, "they've been here already but you weren't here then, I moved you here after they left."

But I was still confused.

"If you're so set on getting rid of me, why bring me here? Why would you think that bringing me to Tyler's house would stop Stefan and the others from finding me?" I questioned, confused.

"Dear Elena, I knew that this would be an easy place for them to find you. I know that they know where you are and that your little witchy friend did a locator spell using Jeremy's blood." She avoided my question.

"Then why am I here?" I asked again, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Because I realised something," she said, reaching for her glass of what looked like whisky, "Stefan finding you dead wouldn't do anything for me, so I decided that I am going to take him away from you instead."

"What do you…" I trailed off, realising what she meant, "no, you can't." I pleaded.

"Oh yeah, I can." She mocked, unsheathing a stake from her back pocket.

She smirked as I pleaded with her. She wanted to _kill_ Stefan, the love of my life and by daughter's father. She was completely insane.

He would come here go rescue me, not knowing that she was going to kill him. What was I going to do? What would I do if she succeeded with her plan? Would I be able to raise our daughter alone without him, I seriously doubted it? If Katherine killed Stefan, would Damon kill her?

I chastised myself for my last thought. Of _course,_ Damon would kill her, I knew that even though he still loved Katherine in his own way, Stefan was his brother and there was no way he would spare her if she killed him. Since I found out I was pregnant, even though I knew it was impossible, I was so immensely grateful for more than one reason. My first reason that I was grateful was that she was defying the impossible, having being the daughter of a human and a vampire. The second reason that I was grateful was that she was the reason her father was home, back to her and back to me. The third reason I was grateful is the change that she's bought in Damon. Since he'd found out I was pregnant, you can see the humanity seeping in through the cracks that my daughter had caused. Damon was on the way to being a changed man, a changed _Vampire._ Although I know he's still the same person, since he's let his emotions back in he's become a happier version of himself, he allowed himself back into his brother's life and he allowed himself to be happy with Caroline. I knew that Stefan was grateful too, he was finally getting his brother back, his _real_ brother, not an insane self-serving psychopath. But what…

I was interrupted from my inner thoughts when a pain shot down my spine. The pain was more intense and _much_ more pressurised than when she kicked me. This pain was enough to make me want to cry out and scream. _No, this is not happening, I'm not due for nine weeks! Please no, not right now._ My worst fears were shown when I felt the water trickle down my legs, my waters had broken.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I had been kidnapped by my evil malicious doppelgänger that was hellbent on killing us all, and to top it all off, I was nearly thirty weeks pregnant. The pain was unbearable, and I was trying my hardest not to make a noise, anything to stop _her_ from not knowing what was happening. Thankfully, it wasn't thirty seconds before she stood up and walked out of the door, her heeled boots clattering across the hard wood, muttering only one word before she disappeared.

" _Showtime."_

 **Stefan POV**

We had searched for hours, and we were still no closer to finding them. We had gone to Bonnie's original location, the Lockwood house, and they hadn't been there. Bonnie summarised that she couldn't get a direct location because Elena was _most likely_ unconscious. We had searched all over town in teams, I was with Damon and Bonnie was with Caroline, the others dispersed all over town to look for them and to secure the border so Katherine couldn't leave town. We were all now back at the house, 100% sure that Katherine was hiding Elena somewhere in town.

"So, they're somewhere in town, but why can't Bonnie get a location on them?" Matt asked.

"I can't get a location on Elena as she's not conscious, there's a life force but I can't place a location on it. But we haven't lost hope, we will find them and bring them back safely." Bonnie said, looking around the group that had gathered in my living room.

"How did she even get into the house?" I questioned.

"I have no idea, had someone invited in since Elena took the deed in the 7 months since Stefan left?" Bonnie asked, looking around the group.

Everyone looked amongst each other, shrugging lightly.

I buried my face in my hands, praying to god that they were okay and Katherine wouldn't hurt them. _Who was I kidding?_ Katherine was a psychotic bitch that is set on killing Elena purely because she's her doppelgänger and because I'm in love with her, not Katherine. I had smashed two of Damon's bourbon glasses and flung a side table across the room but nothing helped, I wouldn't be content again until Elena and our daughter were back in my arms.

"I'll try another spell." Bonnie said, taking Jeremy's hand and pulling him out of the room with her. I furrowed my eyebrows and followed, not sure of what she was trying now.

"So, what are you trying now?" I wondered, leaning against the doorframe, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Well, meaning as I can't get a location on her, I'm going to try to map her subconscious. If that doesn't work I will use the last resort, using your blood to find her." She replied, nodding her head in my direction.

I nodded, raising the sides of my mouth into a slim smile. Bonnie started to cast her spell to link their subconscious together so that Elena could tell us where Katherine was keeping her. Damon, Ric and I were in the kitchen talking about a rescue strategy when we heard the scream. We ran through the house and into the drawing room where Bonnie was sitting on the ground, her hands clasped around her stomach.

"What the hell is going on?" Damon demanded.

"Bonnie linked her subconscious with Elena's, she's feeling the pain that Elena is feeling." Jeremy muttered grimly.

Elena was in that much pain? Pain that must be so unbearable that she must be screaming in pain. I _needed_ to find her, now, Bonnie's screams would be etched into my memory for the rest of eternity.

Jeremy knelt down beside Bonnie.

"Bonnie, break the link, we will find her some other way." Jeremy asked her. Bonnie's eyes clouded over for half a second before she sat up, taking her hands from her stomach.

"Bonnie, use my blood to find them, it's the fastest way." I asked, bringing my wrist to my mouth and biting into it.

"Stefan it's dangerous." Bonnie muttered, standing up and taking her hand through her hair.

"It's the only choice we have, think about this. You're in pain, pain in your stomach. Either something is wrong with the baby or Elena is in labour so we need to hurry this along." Damon demanded.

"But, Elena is only seven months pregnant, it's too early yet." I said, my frown deepening.

"Yeah, exactly so let's get on with this."

I raised my blood-soaked wrist over the map as Bonnie started her spells to locate the baby, hoping that it was possible. Bonnie started to chant softly, and to my utter surprise the blood started move across the map of Mystic Falls, leading towards the edge of town.

"The Lockwood house? We've already been there?" I asked, confused.

"Well, the spell is telling me that's where the baby is, and wherever the baby is, Elena is." Bonnie told me.

"Let's go then." I said, not thinking before I walked towards the front door.

"Stefan, what if this is a trap?" I heard Alaric speak behind me.

"What if it is Ric? This is my girlfriend and my daughter we are talking about, what am I supposed to do Ric?" I closed my eyes and raised my hand to my forehead painstakingly.

"No, you're absolutely right. Just wanted you to be prepared." He said, handing me a gun filled with wooden bullets.

"Don't miss." He said before I took off out the door, not bothering to think about getting into my car before I ran into the forest. I knew that everyone was following me. I could hear Caroline and Damon running behind me, and I knew that the others were most likely in a car speeding over to the Lockwood mansion.

When I got to the gates of the Lockwood mansion, the front door swung open and Katherine walked out. She stopped walking towards us when Matt's truck skidded to a halt in front of her. The trucks occupants jumped out and came to stand behind Caroline, Damon and me.

"Where is she?" Damon demanded.

Katherine smirked and took a step closer.

"She's inside, but that doesn't mean that you'll live to see her." She said bluntly.

I listened carefully, you could hear Elena's muffled screams from where I was standing, and I knew that every other vampire here could hear her.

"My, Miss Katherine was that a threat?" Damon mocked, smirking and cocking his head to one side.

"Oh, you bet it was." She muttered through her teeth, taking one more step forward.

"Don't move, Katherine." Ric threatened, aiming a wooden stake gun directly at her chest.

"Go ahead, kill me, I don't think you'll be able to." She said, looking between Damon and me.

"Katherine, you have treated us like fools for one hundred and fifty years, and then you had the audacity to take my girlfriend and daughter away, all because you're _jealous."_ I huffed.

"I am not _jealous_." She sneered.

"So, what exactly was your motive?" Jeremy asked.

"Why, to kill Damon and Stefan of course. I figured that taking you two away from Elena would hurt her more than killing her so…" she trailed off, suddenly interested in her nails.

A smirk passed over Katherine's face when Elena screamed inside of the house. Caroline took a step to run forward and get into the house, but Katherine side stepped her and sent her flying into a tree. Damon acted on impulse and fired the gun at Katherine. For a second, Katherine stopped in her tracks and looked down at her stomach. Damon used this second to his advantage and fired another round of wooden bullets into her torso.

"Don't miss, Stef." Damon muttered, patting my shoulder before running off in the direction of Caroline. Bonnie, Ric and Jeremy had already run into the house.

"You made the wrong move when you took my fiancée and my child, Katherine." I said darkly, raising the wooden stake and aligning it with her chest.

"Stefan, I thought you loved me." She said, her eyes closing slowly from the lack of blood.

"Not anymore Katherine, not for a long time." I muttered quietly, raising the stake and forcing it into her chest, over her heart.

"Take care of the body." I said to Matt and Tyler before I ran into the house.

I ran towards the house at vampire speed, needing to know that Elena and our child were safe. What I walked into was not what I expected to find. Elena was sat against the wall in Tyler's dad's office, one hand chained to the wall with a shackle. Caroline and Bonnie were knelt beside her, grinning wildly. Damon and Alaric were standing off to the side, smiling just as much. The biggest change in the room was Elena. She was smiling at me, and smiling at the baby in her arms. Although she looked dead on her feet, Elena was still grinning and laughing, stroking the baby's head.

"Let's give them a second guys." Damon said, putting his arm around Caroline's shoulders and leading her out of the house.

I walked over to them slowly, still gaping in her expression. The facial expressions I was making must have been funny because she started to giggle. I smiled at her positivity and knelt beside her on the ground. I reached up and took her hand in mine, snapping the cuff that was securing her to the wall in half. I lifted her gently in my arms and carried her over to the couch that was in the office. I placed her on the couch and sat beside her, reaching over to run my finger over my daughter's cheek.

"My daughter…" I trailed off, in awe of the little girl asleep in Elena's arms.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Elena asked, still grinning giddily.

"At the risk of sounding ridiculously cliché, she looks just like her mother." I smiled at her and I moved my head to capture her lips with mine.

"I love you." She murmured against my lips.

"I love you, too. But we need to get you to the hospital." I told her, finding it extremely difficult to stand up and step away from them.

"Stefan, I'm fine. Caroline gave me blood when she got here. I feel fine, really." She tried to tell me, but I was having none of it, I needed to make sure they were okay.

"Well, at the least we need to make sure that our daughter is okay." I said, my smile widening when I said ' _our daughter'._

"Okay, let's go." She said, trying to stand up. I stood beside her and took her in my arms, carrying her bridal style. I was carrying Elena in my arms and she was carrying our daughter in hers. Elena rested her head on my shoulder and signed contently.

"She okay?" Damon asked, walking over to us and taking the baby from Elena's arms so I could carry her properly.

"I think she'll be fine, you still need to tell us what happened." I said, kissing her forehead and carrying her towards Matt's truck.

…

Later that evening, all of us, minus Matt and Tyler, were gathered in the living room of the boarding house. Elena was sitting beside me, feeding the baby with a bandage on her wrist. When we got to the hospital, Elena and the baby were checked. Elena was fine, except for one scratch on her left wrist that vampire blood didn't heal. Caroline's blood healed the majority of the injures Elena got from the birth. Gracie was fine too, it looked like she also got the accelerated healing from her vampire side. Normally, babies that are born at less than thirty weeks are kept in an incubator to ensure that they are healthy. Once Dr Fell ensured that Gracie was okay, she discharged her and Elena with a clean bill of health. Another thing that the vampire blood healed was it got rid of the very little weight that Elena had gained during her pregnancy, for that Elena was grateful.

Gracie Jenna Salvatore. She was the perfect contrast between Elena and me. She had my eyes and mouth, and Elena's hair colour and cute nose. Her skin was a perfect mix of my pale skin and Elena's olive skin tone. She was perfect. We were yet to figure out how she would be affected by her human side and her vampire side, but that was something that Elena and I would deal with when it was the right time.

But right now, everything was perfect. I was living contently with my beautiful daughter, my brother and my amazing fiancée that never ceased to amaze me. I was happy around my friends, Caroline and Ric were there for us today, and I know they always will be, just like we will be for them.

I looked up at Elena and her eyes met mine, she grinned at me and I took Gracie in my arms.

Everything was great, and as long as I knew that I had Elena at my side, I knew that I would be happy eternally.

 _ **I really hoped you liked this guys, I will 100% have an epilogue up for you soon!**_

 _ **Thank you so much for your support, I love you all!**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Eternal**

 **Chapter 5 – Pre-Epilogue**

 **Three Years Later – Mystic Falls**

 **Elena POV**

Three years had passed. Three years since the death of Katherine, and three years since the birth of our daughter, Gracie Jenna Salvatore. Her given name was Grace, but when she was younger she preferred Gracie so we just stuck with it. We were still living in Mystic Falls, but we needed to move soon as people were getting suspicious that the little girl was growing up but her parents weren't ageing. I decided I wanted to be turned about six months after Gracie was born. Initially I wanted Stefan to be the one to turn me, but in the end Damon had to snap my neck, as Stefan wouldn't bring himself to do it. After I woke up from the change, everyone was worried about how I'd react to Gracie, as she was half human. Turns out, I didn't appeal to her blood at all, I thought it was my motherly instinct to protect her that made me not want her blood.

After she was born, Bonnie dove into research, now that we were sure that she was half human and half vampire. For months Bonnie searched and for months she came up empty, until a snowy day in December two years ago.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _ **Stefan! Elena! You guys here?" I heard Bonnie shout from the hallway.**_

 _ **I came out of the kitchen, Gracie balanced on my hip, to find her out of breath and clutching an old looking book. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.**_

" _ **You found something?" I asked, setting Gracie down on her play mat.**_

" _ **I found something." She said, putting the book down onto the table and opening it half way.**_

" _ **This is one of Ric's books, I don't know where he got it or when he used it but I found something interesting." She said.**_

 _ **Her eyes scanned over the page, looking for the paragraph that she was searching for. She bought her finger up and started to trace over the words on the page before she started to read.**_

' _ **They who are born upon their mothers decent will rake leave from them upon three, those who are born upon their fathers decent will take upon the traits of them and live exponentially'**_

" _ **Why do these clues always need to be riddles?" I questioned, rolling my eyes.**_

" _ **I don't know whether this is the truth or not, it's just an urban legend that I found. But if this is true, it sounds as though she will keep growing until she's the same age as Stefan was when he was turned, and then she'll live forever." Bonnie summarised.**_

" _ **But…" I was interrupted when the front door opened and Stefan walked inside, followed by Damon.**_

" _ **You've found something?" Stefan guessed, kissing me before sitting beside me.**_

" _ **Yeah, an urban legend in one of Alaric's books. Basically, it says that because she got her vampire traits from her father then she will age to the age you were turned and then live eternally. But if she got her traits from her side, it would be completely different and she wouldn't survive." Bonnie told them.**_

 _ **Stefan looked over at Gracie, who was now sitting up, playing with building blocks with Damon.**_

" _ **So, this is the truth? She'll live forever?" Stefan asked, awestruck.**_

" _ **If this is true, then definitely." Bonnie said, smiling at us.**_

 _ **End of flashback**_

When Gracie was two, Stefan and I got married. Caroline and Bonnie were my bridesmaids and Damon was Stefan's best man, of course. Jeremy was going to hold Gracie's hand as she walked down the aisle before me. We knew, that although she was only two years old, she would remember this day. That was another trait she got from Stefan, she had a great memory to go along with her advanced development. Gracie was speaking in full sentences by the time she was seven months old, and Stefan started to teach her French before she was even one and a half. She was extraordinary.

Caroline and Damon got married six months after us, it took them longer as Caroline needed to plan the ultimate wedding. Unsurprisingly, it was the prettiest and most beautiful wedding I had ever been too, they even had Gracie as a flower girl. I was maid of honour and Stefan and Ric were best men, Damon couldn't choose. Gracie was extremely attached to Damon, and threw fits every time she was away from him for an extended period of time, hence the reason we were still living in the boarding house.

I had decided, that due to my controlled blood lust, that I wanted to volunteer at the hospital until my self-control was good enough to train to become a doctor. Caroline had continued on with her dream profession, she worked part-time as a manager of a television network, splitting the rest of her time between the other Salvatore's. It was still hard to believe that Damon and Caroline were married, and that Care and I were sisters in law.

Jeremy was happy, he had a girlfriend, they were currently living in Portland, as Jeremy got a job offer as an artist.

Alaric still lived in Mystic Falls, although I had a suspicion that he would move with us in a few years when we had to move away. Damon and Ric were still great friends, after everything they'd been together, you'd be surprised if they weren't.

Matt became one of Liz Forbes deputies, hoping that he would be able to help as many people as possible.

Bonnie continued studying at Whitmore, she had taken an extended course so she had three years left. She continued to work on her magic and she was well on her way to becoming the most powerful Bennett witch.

Last of all, Klaus. We knew that Klaus was still alive and somewhere on this planet making havoc, but in the three years and seven months it had been since Stefan escaped, we hadn't heard a word. And that's what worried us. Would he come for us one day, did Stefan fulfil his purpose with Klaus, is Klaus done with us now that he can create his hybrids? Maybe he knew that I was a vampire and he knew he couldn't use me for blood anymore, or maybe he was afraid because we'd killed Katherine? But, we would deal with Klaus when the time is right, as a family.

Everything was good, but we knew we would need to move soon.

…

The next day, I was walking down Main Street with Caroline. I was walking alongside her as she pushed Gracie in her stroller.

"Shall we get Gracie some ice cream, what do we think sweetie?" Caroline asked in a high-pitched voice, leaning over the top of the stroller to see her reaction.

Apparently, Caroline achieved her desired level of satisfaction from Gracie as she stopped and walked across the street to the ice cream parlour.

"Caroline, don't fill her up on too much sugar, you know how she gets when she can't sleep." I said, trying to be as motherly as possible but knowing that getting my own way around Caroline was impossible.

"It's only a little bit, come on Gracie." Caroline said in the same high pitched voice, lifting Gracie from her stroller and carrying her into the shop.

In the end, all of us ended up with ice cream. We decided it would be best for us to sit outside of the parlour so that Gracie didn't make so much mess. Even though she was still half vampire, she still managed to make a mess when she was eating food.

When local residents walked past us, they would look at us questioningly, wondering how I still looked eighteen but had a three-year-old daughter. As far as these people were concerned, I had left to go to college and had _magically_ come home to Mystic Falls with a daughter. There were some rumours for a while after she was born. Rumours about Stefan leaving because he ' _shamed the founding families'_ was still floating around the mill, as well as rumours that Gracie was Matt's or Damon's daughter. The people in this town are completely ludicrous, making up such rumours just for the joy of spreading gossip.

It had been six months since people started questioning us. First Care had been asked 'what plastic surgeon she used' to make herself look so young. Originally, she had just laughed and suggested a moisturiser that I knew she used, but then she heard the same girl bitching about her saying that 'now she was married to a Salvatore, she had all of the money in the world to spend on plastic surgery'. When she heard the girl say this, let's just say she gave the girl a massive fright. The next person to be asked was Stefan. Him and Damon were walking around town, Damon was carrying Gracie as he hated using the stroller. They had been approached by a new town resident who asked about _Damon's_ daughter, at this point Stefan corrected her and she raised her eyebrows in surprise before jogging away, muttering to herself about teenage parents and how young Stefan looked to be a father. We knew that we needed to move soon, it was just the decision of where. Of course, all of us including Alaric were included in the decision as he had told Damon he would move with them, claiming there was nothing left in Mystic Falls for him without us.

So, during the six years Stefan and Damon had moved back home, they had both gained a wife and even more family. Stefan had gained me and our beautiful daughter. Whereas, Damon had also gained a wife and friends, but most importantly his humanity. We knew that wherever we were in the world, we could always count on each other whether we were in Mystic Falls or on the other side of the world.


	6. Chapter 6

**Eternal**

 **Chapter 6 – Post-Epilogue**

 **Six Years Later – London, England**

 **Elena POV**

Three years had passed since we left Mystic Falls. It had been a pretty uneventful three years. In the three years since we had lived here, I had completed my doctorate and was now working at the University College London Hospital three days a week. The other four days were committed to my family. Caroline and I had found the perfect house in London for us. It was on the outskirts of London, there were two houses on the site and a small guest cottage for Ric when he wanted to stay with us instead of in the city. Alaric had started working as a History and Philosophy of Science professor at the University of London. It was very different to what he used to teach back in Mystic Falls but he loved teaching it. On the weekends when he wasn't too busy he would leave the city and come to the outskirts to visit and see Gracie, she was growing up so fast. Gracie started school the first September we were here. She started at 'reception' level, even though we all knew she was much more capable of a higher level of education. When she was three, we discovered that her thirst for blood was virtually non-existent, and that she had gained her feeding habits from her me as a human, she had been raised not to bite people and she had never done it.

We still travel back to Mystic Falls when it is necessary. For example, we went back to Virginia when Jeremy got married to his fiancé Kara, although they got married outside of Mystic Falls so that we could attend without raising suspicion. Since their wedding, they've had two children, a girl and a boy. They named them Miranda and Grayson after our mom and dad. That was the 'deal' apparently, Stefan and I honoured Jenna so Kara and Jeremy honoured our mom and dad who we still loved and missed very much. Discussing love, two years after we moved to London, Ric met a psychologist called Joanne, they had been dating happily for two years, and I was so happy to see him happy. A year after we left, Bonnie graduated from Whitmore and moved back to Mystic Falls, just in time for a handsome British vampire to move into town. Firstly, Bonnie and Enzo had despised each other but eventually they fell in love, and they are blissfully happy together, and I was so happy for them. Besides, it didn't hurt that Enzo was great friends with Stefan and Damon so I got to see Bonnie more. As for Damon and Caroline. Caroline continued to work in broadcast journalism until her mom died, and then she had a huge battle between herself and her emotions and Damon, but eventually she battled through and didn't flip the switch. Caroline and Damon are making plans to renew their vows, something that Damon was surprisingly happy about. He asked her on their fourth wedding anniversary to renew them and she accepted happily. Of course, Caroline and Damon lived as close to us as possible, so that we could all stay together. As Gracie was getting older, she needed us less than she used to, but of course Stefan and I were still her parents so we could continue to look after her for the rest of eternity, regardless of whether she was six years old or two hundred. As for Stefan and I, we were blissfully happy and in love, just like we both wanted. I will never thank fate enough for the day when we bumped into each other all of those years ago, in Mystic Falls. That moment was the trigger that changed both of our lives, and I believe that if that moment had never happened we wouldn't be in the same place we were now. Stefan and I never would have fallen in love, ultimately leading to Gracie never being born. Damon would not have met Caroline, granted their meeting was a messy one, but they loved each other and I know they would continue to love each other. But together, we will love and be together, because together, we are eternal.

 _ **I really hope that you guys liked this! I decided to do an extra epilogue for you guys as I couldn't seem to let the story go! Thank you so much for your read and if you have time, please leave a review I would love to know what you thought.**_

 _ **Lots of love,**_

 _ **Louisaxo**_


	7. Chapter 7 - Authors Note

_**Hello guys! Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. I just wanted to alert you that I have written a festive spin off for Eternal, it's called An Eternal Christmas. Check it out on my profile and make sure to leave a review to let me know what you thought! Thanks guys, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!**_


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